On 21 April, the HPSC lecture series welcomed Prof. Dale Sanders (Honorary Professor at the University of York and former Director of the John Innes Centre) for an inspiring talk entitled Global Crop Nutrition in a Changing World: GM and Genomic Approaches. After introducing the major challenges affecting global food systems, he highlighted a few innovative strategies to improve crop nutrition and resilience in the face of climate change and population growth.
Among the examples presented, the work on the biofortification of barley with zinc stood out as a powerful illustration of how genetic approaches can address global health issues such as zinc malnutrition, which affects a significant portion of the world’s population. He also emphasized the importance of international scientific collaborations, showcasing research on harnessing wheat landrace diversity to enhance crop resilience — an effort emerging from the Centre of Excellence for Plant and Microbial Science (CEPAMS), a partnership between the John Innes Centre and the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
The talk was particularly relevant for the Agri-Explore projects, as it touched on themes closely aligned with our research interests, including sustainable crop improvement and the molecular basis of plant resilience. It sparked engaging reflections on how plant science can contribute to addressing pressing global agricultural challenges.
